Olympic athletes have long worn special competition clothing to gain an edge. Science and technology continue to improve on what they wear. Hear from Olympians Chad Hedrick, Steve Holcomb and Erin Hamlin, and Melissa Hines, the director of the Cornell University Center for Materials Research, about how the latest in competition suits will go to work for Team USA in Vancouver.

As athletes push themselves to their limits and sometimes crash or collide, they rely on protective gear to keep them safe. NSF-funded scientists Katharine Flores, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State University, and Melissa Hines, the director of the Cornell University Center for Materials Research, explain the physics of a collision and exactly how this gear, especially safety helmets, works to prevent injury.